SUBHRO SAHA
Food for Thought

The city-state of Singapore, easily accessible through its vast air links, has one of the world’s busiest container ports and is regarded as one of the most network-ready countries in the world. Every year, more than two million people from around the world converge on the island nation for business and meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions, attracted by its ability to offer networking and business opportunities.
The dynamic city — rich in contrast and colour — was recently the setting for the launch of Ivory The Indian Kitchen, a speciality Indian coastal cuisine eating house, which also marked Calcutta’s first foray into the gourmet capital of Southeast Asia.
Here are some lessons the promoters of Ivory — the team behind Grain of Salt — learnt from their Singapore sojourn, which could add some food for thought to our F&B table.
Registration: The registration process is a swim in Singapore; anybody wishing to open an F&B outlet can apply on the Net.
“There’s no ambiguity, with the dos and don’ts clearly spelt out. All you have to do is fill in the boxes and you get your licences,” says Pankaj Tandon, managing director of PDK Shenaz Singapore Pte Ltd.
Obtaining 20-odd licences took less than a month for the 100 per cent subsidiary of PDK Shenaz, which had set up Grain of Salt (now also called Ivory) at 22, Camac Street.
Dignity of labour: Working in a restaurant or a bar is not considered to be a thankless job in Singapore, and personnel at all F&B outlets are treated with respect by the customers. “Screaming at waiters if something is not right doesn’t only mess up the ambience, it sends out wrong signals to the next-door diner, who could be a foreigner and take that unpleasant image back home,” says Nitin Kohli, director, PDK Shenaz. In Singapore, the clientele at an F&B outlet is encouraged to voice complaints in a structured, disciplined manner and every complaint is addressed professionally.
A special programme initiated by the government called GEMS (service with a smile) aims to boost service standards further. You can recommend a waiter’s name to the management for some reward, which serves as an incentive for better service.
Standardisation: Whether you order a dish worth (Sing)$5 or (Sing)$30, you can be assured of the same quality and value for money. Singapore has layers of F&B outlets — from food courts to hawker centres to fine dining.
The government watches you closely, monitors your performance and standards, “because they want you to be successful, not to flex muscle”, observes Arvind Bhatnagar, executive director, operations, of the Singapore company.
All the raw materials are HACCP-certified — passing through the most stringent quality controls and state-of-the-art infrastructure ensures standardised systems. Availability of “almost every kind of ingredient” is another huge plus for any aspiring restaurateur, whatever be the cuisine.
Heritage preservation: Singapore has been at the forefront of restoration and adaptive reuse of its heritage structures, like most European countries have done so effectively. A case in point is Clarke Quay, on the edge of The Singapore River, where Ivory is located. Rows of 19th-century heritage shop-houses, which were once used as warehouses, have been restored and converted into hip clubs, bars and bistros.
Through clear and attractive signage, careful selection of the spread and innovative ideas to draw footfalls, the owners CapitaLand have created one of the most famous food-and-entertainment hubs in the world. Something our own Park Street can take a leaf out of. To begin with, can we have a fresh coat of paint for the crumbling Armenian edifices, clean up the sidewalks and instal attractive signage and street furniture?

#02-04 Blk. A Clarke Quay,
River Valley Rd., 6333-4664.

The gastronomic world map of Clarke Quay has expanded with the inclusion of new fine
dining Indian restaurant IVORY. Located upstairs, it is a chic space in neutral tones with none of the usual embellishments other than a tandoor show kitchen. We were impressed by the menu which, specializing in healthy and contemporary style Indian food with a focus on coastal cuisine, offered many exciting new dishes we’d never heard of and an extensive wine and cocktail
list. We began our meal with chukander ki tikki ($14) and murgh angaar bedgi ($18) and were served two very generous servings of creamy beetroot patties with a yogurt sauce and chicken tikka. Both dishes were a
delicious assault of flavors while the chicken was quite possibly the most succulent we’ve ever tasted. Taste buds peaked, we then tucked into the mutton pepper fry ($22) and Travancore–style fish curry ($22). The mutton
was a peppery zesty treat that melted in our mouths and was further complemented when taken with some garlic naan ($6). These servings were large so, despite
serious temptation from the dessert menu, we could only manage the yummy mango kulfi ($10). We were very impressed by the cuisine here with our only gripe being
the intrusiveness of the service, which will surely settle with time. We can’t wait to return. Open daily noon- 2:30pm, 6–11:30pm. at Clarke Quay. AE,D,MC,V.
$$$-$$$$

Ivory: The Indian Kitchen
Asiacuisine Rating: 85/100
Written by: Cuisine & Wine Asia

Ambience: 17/20
Service: 25/30
Food: 43/50
Opening Hours: -
Website: www.ivorykitchen.com
Email: info@ivorykitchen.com

Cuisine : Coastal Indian
Signature dishes : Chukander Ki Tikki, Meen Varuval, Malabari Trio
Pricing : Starters range from S$9 to S$16, meat mains range from S$18 to S$42, dals hover around S$16
Chef : Wali Ahmad
Manager : Dave Purba
Payment : Cash and major credit cards
Room : 90
Parking : Clarke Quay Parking
Address : 3A River Valley Road, CLARKE QUAY 02-04, Singapore 179020
Reservations : (65) 6333 4664

It seems that the Indian culture is getting into the teenager`s broad definition of the word `hip`; bhangra music blaring in clubs, Muthu`s Prata, and of course, Bollywood. I must admit, previously I only loved two things about Indian culture: Roti prata and Aishwarya Rai. Garish images filled my mind when I thought of an Indian-looking restaurant. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Ivory, the latest Indian fine dining establishment brought to you by PDK Shenaz Hotels Pte Ltd. The décor featured razor-sharp definitions, sleek wall textures and a chandelier in a private room that was so majestic, you`d think it was a prop from a Peter Jackson film. Nothing overtly Indian, but still had the hints of the characteristic fabric textures and ruby-red hues. Woah.

It`s no slouch in the chef department either. Chef Wali Ahmad was voted chef of the year in 2000 by the Association of Catering professionals in India, and has a long and illustrious career that brought him to Indian television and helming an Indian bistro at Boston, Massachusetts.

Dubbed `coastal cuisine`, the restaurant’s cuisine has its origins in the Indian peninsula. Though spice usage is sometimes shared with general Indian cuisine, seafood is a dominant component, as well as the influence from Portuguese colonisation. Spices are often used whole instead of being ground up.

A wonderful (and healthy) surprise was found in the starter dish, chukander ki tikki. It looked pretty much like a vegetable patty, but blood red in colour. It`s described as `spicy patties of beetroot with cumin and hing, with creamy spicy glare`. It turned out to taste more like meat than anything else. While the flavour is substantially different from that of meat, sporting a warm, mildly bitter aroma (no doubt the cumin), the texture was slightly coarse and had a nutty, cake-like feel to it, very much like ground meat. Try to imagine a briyani-tasting piece of mock meat, with hints of onion… a screamingly unique and tasty dish.

The main course was a spicy triple threat and named, aptly enough, the malabari trio. Spicy tiger prawns, chilli-fried chicken and red pepper lamb was all on the platter. Be warned: this is one heck of a spicy dish. Start with the mildest tasting one, the red pepper lamb, otherwise you’ll just taste a conflagration in your mouth well before you even get started on the next meat. Having said that, all three were very well done. My favourite was the lamb, but its strong lamb taste will be a matter of contention for some. The chicken had a great texture but was a tad too spicy, while the tiger prawns were really fresh and succulent, yet satisfyingly crunchy on the outside.

What would coastal cuisine be without a fish dish? The meen varuval (pan-fried chilli fish cooked with southern Indian spices) is just that, and more. While the fish used (haddock) was nothing to write home about due to its dubious lack of texture, the ingredients used were interesting indeed. With a combination of coconut and fenugreek, the taste was complex, slightly bitter, and had a strong maple syrup aroma. It`s akin to a sub-par cake with very good icing on the top.

For dessert, the marcuuti (condensed milk with rice and strawberry) was a strange affair. Texturally it is hard to describe, perhaps you could think along the lines of `fermented porridge`. I didn’t like it very much because it was too sweet for me, and the texture made it confusing (I didn’t know if I wanted to chew or swallow). Perhaps those with a sweet tooth would be able to relish it, but I very much preferred the kulfi that my colleague was having.

On a few last notes, one thing worth mentioning is that the lalla mussa dal, offered as a specialty of the house, comes in huge portions and is very filling; very much worth the S$16 price tag. Its list of Indian wines is also a plus point for wine enthusiasts, though (for now) the ShiSha lounge ironically does not have any hookahs.

Ivory is, all in all, a very rich experience, thick with Indian spices and steep in traditional methods of cooking, but still palatable to the general unassuming public. It`s also cheaper than other Indian fine dining establishments in Singapore, and coupled with its slick ShiSha lounge bar, is the perfect starting point for those looking for a magic carpet ride.

Subhro Saha attends the high-heeled launch of a restaurant and lounge bar from the Grain of Salt stable in Singapore

It was sweet surrender by the quayside in Raffles country, with taste buds tantalised by the charisma of Indian coastal cuisine. On Wednesday evening, Singapore, the gourmet capital of Southeast Asia, welcomed a brand new bastion in the heart of Clarke Quay, its hot spot of chic clubs, bars and bistros, with Calcutta calling the tune.
Ivory The Indian Kitchen and Shisha Lounge Bar, offerings from PDK Shenaz Hotels Singapore Pte Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of the same promoters who gave Calcutta Grain of Salt and Shisha, were ceremonially launched after a six-week trial run, marking Brand Bengal’s first foray into the island nation’s (Sing)$ 5-billion F&B industry.
With its signature Malabari Trio and Matki Dum Murgh, Methi Saag Reshmi Paneer and Mutton Pepper Fry, Fish Balcho and Masala Crab Cake, Ivory, the plush 90-seater restaurant, takes the diner on a cross-coastal culinary trek around the Indian peninsula, from Goa to the Konkan, all the way to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The coastal spread is complemented by an equal share of exotic dishes from the “kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad”, anchored by chef Wali Ahmad, back in the PDK fold after a stint on his own in Boston.
The Shisha bar seats 70 and serves Indian Tapas (Spanish for finger food) like Spicy Lamb Sheek Kebab, Steamed Fish with Sweet Mango and Coriander Ginger Shrimp with Sweet Chilli Sauce.
“There’s a lot of standard Indian cuisine available in Singapore. So, we thought let’s do something strategically monopolistic, and decided on the coastal cuisine for Ivory, which also marks the first footprint in our global plans,” explained Nitin Kohli, director of the PDK Shenaz Group.
Next stop for the group is also in Singapore, Go India, an all-day dining stop in Vivo City, Harbour Front — Asia ’s largest mall spread over a million square feet — set for an October 6 rollout.
PDK hopes to be in London by the first quarter of next year and lay its tables in New York by end-2007. The company will henceforth segregate its fine-dining and all-day dining brand profiles, with the former called Ivory everywhere. Even Grain of Salt will be subsequently rechristened Ivory.
“After pondering over KL and Dubai, we chose Singapore because of its excellent ties with India, its proficiency in e-business (20-odd licences were obtained in a week) and easy accessibility,” said Pankaj Tandon, managing director, PDK Shenaz Singapore Pte Ltd.
With over 600,000 Indian visitors every year and its large expat Indian population, there couldn’t have been a better take-off pad than Singapore.
But the toughest ask was convincing the locals that “we have a winning product and are bringing something new to the table”, felt Arvind Bhatnagar, executive director, operations.
The setting itself has its own charm and challenges. Clarke Quay, located at the edge of the Singapore River, has always been the place where things come together in its most vibrant form.
The 19th-century heritage shop-houses, once used as warehouses to store goods shipped from shores afar, are now home to nearly 35 tenants, with current owners CapitaLand pumping in over (Sing) $80 million in a major renewal drive.
The nucleus to rare experiences with its array of restaurants, wine bars, entertainment hotspots and chill-out places, Clarke Quay is now made fuller by the ‘Angel-Sky’ architecture towering above with climate-modifier devices and its riverside dining set upon giant lily pads and bluebell canopies.
Rubbing shoulders with such iconic destinations like Indo-Chine (Vietnamese), Chijmers, the signature restaurant of giant Chinese chain Le Garden, Brewerkz, the German beer brewery-cum-restaurant and local titan Jumbo Seafood, Ivory isn’t short of competition. The young promoters are buoyant it’ll shine though.
“The response to our trial runs has been extremely encouraging and we as a team are ready for the location litmus test. This is a proud moment for the entire trade in Calcutta,” smiled Nitin.
His thoughts were echoed by Alok Prasad, Indian high commissioner in Singapore and guest of honour at the high-heeled launch party, also attended by a fair sprinkling from the local media.
Prasad pointed out that “for the first time”, an Indian restaurant has been set up in Singapore “by a 100 per cent Indian company”.
While Rang Mahal, a popular Indian eating house on the island, is run by the Hong Kong-based Jhunjhunwalas, Song of India is operated by an Australian concern

#02-04 Blk 3A Clarke Quay, River
Valley Rd., 6333-4664.

Steal away from the slap-down meals
in Little India and chew on the original
and contemporary dishes created
by award-winning chef Wali Ahmad.
On the menu of this newly opened
restaurant are red plum baby tomatoes
in spicy peanut sesame sauce ($16),
small cubes of snake gourd tossed
with crushed coconut mustard seeds
and curry leaf ($18), chicken cooked
in a slow fire with a hint of saffron
and green cardamom ($19) and tiger
prawns cooked in yogurt and southern
spices ($24).
Open daily noon-2:30pm, 6-11:30pm.